Shell Integration for an Application Executing Remotely on a Server

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems described herein are directed to providing shell integration for an application executing remotely on a server. By providing shell integration for the application executing on the server, the system provides a seamless user experience, in which a user perceives minor or no differences between applications executing locally and those executing remotely. New usability enhancements in operating systems, such as Destination Lists (a.k.a. Jump Lists), Thumbnail Toolbars, Overlay Icons, Progress Bars, and integration of web sites with the Shell, may work only in a local OS environment and fail to integrate at all in a remote environment. One of the goals of the invention is to integrate these Shell capabilities and achieve a unified desktop experience for the user.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/474,238, entitled “Shell Integration for an Application ExecutingRemotely on a Server,” filed May 17, 2012.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to applications executingremotely on a server. In particular, the present disclosure is directedto providing shell integration for an application executing remotely ona server.

BACKGROUND

Through the advancements in computing and networking capabilities,companies and users are increasingly using remotely executedapplications. However, in many instances, the use of remotely executedapplications may provide a cumbersome user experience, in which visualand functional usability enhancements of a local operating system arenot integrated into the remote environment. Further, the absence of suchintegration may cause confusion for the user when they attempt tointeract simultaneously with the remotely executing applications.

SUMMARY

In light of the foregoing background, the following presents asimplified summary of the present disclosure in order to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects described herein. This summary is not anextensive overview, and it is not intended to identify key or criticalelements or to delineate the scope of the claims. The following summarymerely presents various described aspects in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description provided below.

The methods and systems described herein are directed to providing shellintegration for an application executing remotely on a server. Byproviding shell integration for the application executing on the server,the system provides a seamless user experience, in which a userperceives minor or no differences between applications executing locallyand those executing remotely. New usability enhancements in operatingsystems, such as Destination Lists (a.k.a. Jump Lists), ThumbnailToolbars, Overlay Icons, Progress Bars, and integration of web siteswith the Shell (IE9), may work only in a local OS environment and failto integrate at all in a remote environment. One of the goals of theinvention is to integrate these Shell capabilities and achieve a unifieddesktop experience for the user.

Destination Lists constitute a mini start menu for each app, whichprovides easy access to content and tasks that users perform every day.Destination Lists permit users to open the application, pin or unpin theapplication, and close windows. Destination Lists may contain usertasks, custom categories, known categories (such as “Recent Items” or“Frequently Used Items”), pinned categories. In some embodiments, shellitems are pinnable. Destination Lists may range from blank ones to anypermutation of default, known or custom categories, shell links, andshell items. Destination Lists may be static (created at installation ofthe application) or dynamic. Destinations Lists may be separate (notgrouped) for local and remote applications. Destination Lists may bemerged (grouped) for local and remote applications. In some embodiments,within a list, either merging or separating individual categories anditems may be based on either local or remote access.

Thumbnail toolbars provide access to a particular window's key commandswithout making the user restore or activate the window of theapplication. An active toolbar control can be embedded in that window'sthumbnail preview.

An application can communicate certain notifications and status to theuser through its taskbar button by the display of small overlays on thebutton. Icon overlays serve as a contextual notification of status, andare intended to negate the need for a separate notification area statusicon.

A taskbar button can be used to display a progress bar. This enables awindow to provide progress information to the user without that userhaving to switch to the window itself. The user can stay productive inanother application while seeing at a glance the progress of one or moreoperations occurring in other windows. The taskbar button can also showthat the operation is paused or has encountered an error and requiresuser intervention.

According to an aspect, a method may include receiving, at a localcomputing device, a destination list from a remote computing device,said destination list corresponding to an application executing on theremote computing device; instantiating, at the local computing device, astub executable program based on the corresponding application executingon a remote computing device; and associating the destination list withthe stub executable program.

Another aspect may further include outputting for display a userinterface comprising the destination list; intercepting, at the clientdevice, user input selecting an item on the destination listcorresponding to an item in the destination list received from theremote computing device; and sending the intercepted input to the remotecomputing device for delivery to the application.

Some aspects may include generating a local destination listcorresponding to the received destination list, wherein said localdestination list comprises at least one user selectable item not in thereceived destination list; and outputting for display a combineddestination list based on the received destination list and the localdestination list.

Other aspects may include one or more other features described herein,and may include computer readable media programmed with instructionsthat, when executed, configure a device to perform one more of therecited features.

Another aspect may include computer readable media storing instructionsfor configuring a device to display a user interface including a taskbaricon corresponding to both a first application executing on the localcomputing device and a second application executing on a remotecomputing device, where the graphical user interface is configured, uponreceiving first user input associated with the taskbar icon, to displaya destination list including at least one list item corresponding to adestination on the local computing device and at least one destinationlist item corresponding to a destination on the remote computing device.

In some variants, the destination list may be divided into local andremote sections, and/or may include a thumbnail toolbar item, overlayindicia, and/or progress bar information.

The details of various embodiments of the methods and systems describedherein are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the descriptionbelow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, aspects, features, and advantages ofthe disclosure will become more apparent and better understood byreferring to the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A illustrates embodiments of network environments that provideremote access to computing devices that can execute application programsaccording to one or more aspects described herein.

FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C are block diagrams that illustrate embodiments ofcomputing devices according to one or more aspects described herein.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system for providingshell integration for an application executing remotely on a serveraccording to one or more aspects described herein.

FIG. 3 is a screenshot of one embodiment of a Jump List or DestinationList according to one or more aspects described herein.

FIG. 4 is a screenshot of a default Destination List for a remotelyexecuting application according to one or more aspects described herein.

FIG. 5 is a screenshot of an error dialog box displayed when an erroroccurs when launching a pinned presentation layer protocol enginewithout context according to one or more aspects described herein.

FIG. 6 is a screenshot of a very limited Destination List for remotelyexecuting application with only a “Close Window” option according to oneor more aspects described herein.

FIG. 7 is a screenshot of a pinned media player according to one or moreaspects described herein.

FIG. 8 illustrates a screenshot of storage for automatic and customdestinations according to one or more aspects described herein.

FIG. 9 illustrates a screenshot of replacing the custom Destination Listof Internet Explorer 8 according to one or more aspects describedherein.

FIG. 10 is a screenshot of a custom application presenting the automaticDestination List of Notepad according to one or more aspects describedherein.

FIGS. 11A-11D illustrate visual illustrations of some of the options forDestination Lists according to one or more aspects described herein.

FIG. 12 illustrates a screen shot of a customized Internet Explorer 8Destination List with a custom “Citrix Receiver” category and a“Preferences” task according to one or more aspects described herein.

FIG. 13 illustrates a Close-Window only option to prevent pinning,although the Destination List for the application is still availableaccording to one or more aspects described herein.

FIG. 14 is a screenshot illustrating a Media Player Thumbnail Toolbaraccording to one or more aspects described herein.

FIG. 15 illustrates an overlay icon in the context of a remotelyexecuting application according to one or more aspects described herein.

FIGS. 16A-D illustrate various states of the progress bars for aremotely executed application according to one or more aspects describedherein.

FIG. 17 illustrates a screen shot of IE 9 Destination List Tasks for aCommunication site according to one or more aspects described herein.

FIG. 18 illustrates a screenshot of IE 9 thumbnail tool bar buttons tocontrol video according to one or more aspects described herein.

FIG. 19 illustrates a screenshot of an overlay icon in Outlook WebAccess window icon indicating an appointment notification according toone or more aspects described herein.

FIG. 20 illustrates a flowchart for a method of performing shellintegration for destination lists according to one or more aspectsdescribed herein.

The features and advantages of the methods and systems described hereinwill become more apparent from the detailed description set forth belowwhen taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which like referencecharacters identify corresponding elements throughout. In the drawings,like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionallysimilar, and/or structurally similar elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of the various embodiments, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and inwhich is shown by way of illustration various embodiments in whichaspects described herein may be practiced. It is to be understood thatother embodiments may be utilized and structural and functionalmodifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe present disclosure.

For purposes of reading the description of the various embodimentsbelow, the following descriptions of the sections of the specificationand their respective contents may be helpful:

Section A describes a network environment and computing environmentwhich may be useful for practicing one or more embodiments describedherein;

Section B describes embodiments of systems for providing shellintegration for applications executing remotely on a server; and

Section C describes embodiments of methods for providing shellintegration for applications executing remotely on a server.

Various aspects of embodiments may be combined or used separately. Eachdescribed embodiment is illustrative in nature, and not intended to belimiting unless explicitly so stated.

Section A: Network and Computing Environment

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art upon reading thefollowing disclosure, various aspects described herein may be embodiedas a method, a data processing system, or a computer program product.Accordingly, those aspects may take the form of an entirely hardwareembodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combiningsoftware and hardware aspects. Furthermore, such aspects may take theform of a computer program product stored by one or morecomputer-readable storage media having computer-readable program code,or instructions, embodied in or on the storage media. Any suitablecomputer readable storage media may be utilized, including hard disks,CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, and/or anycombination thereof. In addition, various signals representing data orevents as described herein may be transferred between a source and adestination in the form of electromagnetic waves traveling throughsignal-conducting media such as metal wires, optical fibers, and/orwireless transmission media (e.g., air and/or space).

FIG. 1A illustrates one embodiment of a computing environment 101 thatincludes one or more client machines 102A-102N (generally referred toherein as “client machine(s) 102”) that are in communication with one ormore servers 106A-106N (generally referred to herein as “server(s)106”). Installed in between the client machine(s) 102 and server(s) 106is a network.

In one embodiment, the computing environment 101 can include anappliance installed between the server(s) 106 and client machine(s) 102.This appliance can manage client/server connections, and in some casescan load balance client connections amongst a plurality of backendservers.

The client machine(s) 102 can, in some embodiments, be referred to as asingle client machine 102 or a single group of client machines 102,while server(s) 106 may be referred to as a single server 106 or asingle group of servers 106. In one embodiment a single client machine102 communicates with more than one server 106, while in anotherembodiment a single server 106 communicates with more than one clientmachine 102. In yet another embodiment, a single client machine 102communicates with a single server 106.

A client machine 102 can, in some embodiments, be referenced by any oneof the following terms: client machine(s) 102; client(s); clientcomputer(s); client device(s); client computing device(s); localmachine; remote machine; client node(s); endpoint(s); endpoint node(s);or a second machine. The server 106, in some embodiments, may bereferenced by any one of the following terms: server(s), local machine;remote machine; server farm(s), host computing device(s), or a firstmachine(s).

In one embodiment, the client machine 102 can be a virtual machine 102C.In some embodiments, the virtual machine 102C can be managed by ahypervisor such as the Xen hypervisor, developed sold by Citrix Systems,Inc., Hyper-V, developed and sold by Microsoft Corp., ESX, developed andsold by EMC, or any other hypervisor.

The client machine 102 can in some embodiments execute, operate orotherwise provide an application that can be any one of the following:software; a program; executable instructions; a virtual machine; ahypervisor; a web browser; a web-based client; a client-serverapplication; a thin-client computing client; an ActiveX control; a Javaapplet; software related to voice over internet protocol (VoIP)communications like a soft IP telephone; an application for streamingvideo and/or audio; an application for facilitating real-time-datacommunications; a HTTP client; a FTP client; an Oscar client; a Telnetclient; or any other set of executable instructions. Still otherembodiments include a client device 102 that displays application outputgenerated by an application remotely executing on a server 106 or otherremotely located machine. In these embodiments, the client device 102can display the application output in an application window, a browser,or other output window. In one embodiment, the application is a desktop,while in other embodiments the application is an application thatgenerates a desktop.

The server 106, in some embodiments, executes a remote presentationclient or other client or program that uses a thin-client orremote-display protocol to capture display output generated by anapplication executing on a server 106 and transmits the applicationdisplay output to a remote client 102. The thin-client or remote-displayprotocol can be any one of the following protocols: the IndependentComputing Architecture (ICA) protocol manufactured by Citrix Systems,Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; or the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)manufactured by the Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.

The computing environment can include more than one server 106A-106Nsuch that the servers 106A-106N are logically grouped together into aserver farm 106. The server farm 106 can include servers 106 that aregeographically dispersed and logically grouped together in a server farm106, or servers 106 that are located proximate to each other andlogically grouped together in a server farm 106. Geographicallydispersed servers 106A-106N within a server farm 106 can, in someembodiments, communicate using a WAN, MAN, or LAN, where differentgeographic regions can be characterized as: different continents;different regions of a continent; different countries; different states;different cities; different campuses; different rooms; or anycombination of the preceding geographical locations. In some embodimentsthe server farm 106 may be administered as a single entity, while inother embodiments the server farm 106 can include multiple server farms106.

In some embodiments, a server farm 106 can include servers 106 thatexecute a substantially similar type of operating system platform (e.g.,WINDOWS NT, manufactured by Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash., UNIX,LINUX, or SNOW LEOPARD.) In other embodiments, the server farm 106 caninclude a first group of servers 106 that execute a first type ofoperating system platform, and a second group of servers 106 thatexecute a second type of operating system platform. The server farm 106,in other embodiments, can include servers 106 that execute differenttypes of operating system platforms.

The server 106, in some embodiments, can be any server type. In otherembodiments, the server 106 can be any of the following server types: afile server; an application server; a web server; a proxy server; anappliance; a network appliance; a gateway; an application gateway; agateway server; a virtualization server; a deployment server; a SSL VPNserver; a firewall; a web server; an application server or as a masterapplication server; a server 106 executing an active directory; or aserver 106 executing an application acceleration program that providesfirewall functionality, application functionality, or load balancingfunctionality. In some embodiments, a server 106 may be a RADIUS serverthat includes a remote authentication dial-in user service. Inembodiments where the server 106 comprises an appliance, the server 106can be an appliance manufactured by any one of the followingmanufacturers: the Citrix Application Networking Group; Silver PeakSystems, Inc; Riverbed Technology, Inc.; F5 Networks, Inc.; or JuniperNetworks, Inc. Some embodiments include a first server 106A thatreceives requests from a client machine 102, forwards the request to asecond server 106B, and responds to the request generated by the clientmachine 102 with a response from the second server 106B. The firstserver 106A can acquire an enumeration of applications available to theclient machine 102 and well as address information associated with anapplication server 106 hosting an application identified within theenumeration of applications. The first server 106A can then present aresponse to the client's request using a web interface, and communicatedirectly with the client 102 to provide the client 102 with access to anidentified application.

The server 106 can, in some embodiments, execute any one of thefollowing applications: a thin-client application using a thin-clientprotocol to transmit application display data to a client; a remotedisplay presentation application; any portion of the CITRIX ACCESS SUITEby Citrix Systems, Inc. like the XENAPP or CITRIX PRESENTATION SERVER;MICROSOFT WINDOWS Terminal Services manufactured by the MicrosoftCorporation; or an ICA client, developed by Citrix Systems, Inc. Anotherembodiment includes a server 106 that is an application server such as:an email server that provides email services such as MICROSOFT EXCHANGEmanufactured by the Microsoft Corporation; a web or Internet server; adesktop sharing server; a collaboration server; or any other type ofapplication server. Still other embodiments include a server 106 thatexecutes any one of the following types of hosted servers applications:GOTOMEETING provided by Citrix Online Division, Inc.; WEBEX provided byWebEx, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif.; or Microsoft Office LIVE MEETINGprovided by Microsoft Corporation.

Client machines 102 can, in some embodiments, be a client node thatseeks access to resources provided by a server 106. In otherembodiments, the server 106 may provide clients 102 or client nodes withaccess to hosted resources. The server 106, in some embodiments,functions as a master node such that it communicates with one or moreclients 102 or servers 106. In some embodiments, the master node canidentify and provide address information associated with a server 106hosting a requested application, to one or more clients 102 or servers106. In still other embodiments, the master node can be a server farm106, a client 102, a cluster of client nodes 102, or an appliance.

One or more clients 102 and/or one or more servers 106 can transmit dataover a network 104 installed between machines and appliances within thecomputing environment 101. The network 104 can comprise one or moresub-networks, and can be installed between any combination of theclients 102, servers 106, computing machines and appliances includedwithin the computing environment 101. In some embodiments, the network104 can be: a local-area network (LAN); a metropolitan area network(MAN); a wide area network (WAN); a primary network 104 comprised ofmultiple sub-networks 104 located between the client machines 102 andthe servers 106; a primary public network 104 with a private sub-network104; a primary private network 104 with a public sub-network 104; or aprimary private network 104 with a private sub-network 104. Stillfurther embodiments include a network 104 that can be any of thefollowing network types: a point to point network; a broadcast network;a telecommunications network; a data communication network; a computernetwork; an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) network; a SONET(Synchronous Optical Network) network; a SDH (Synchronous DigitalHierarchy) network; a wireless network; a wireline network; or a network104 that includes a wireless link where the wireless link can be aninfrared channel or satellite band. The network topology of the network104 can differ within different embodiments, possible network topologiesinclude: a bus network topology; a star network topology; a ring networktopology; a repeater-based network topology; or a tiered-star networktopology. Additional embodiments may include a network 104 of mobiletelephone networks that use a protocol to communicate among mobiledevices, where the protocol can be any one of the following: AMPS; TDMA;CDMA; GSM; GPRS UMTS; EV-DO; LTE; or any other protocol able to transmitdata among mobile devices like 802.11, Bluetooth, and Near FieldCommunication.

Illustrated in FIG. 1B is an embodiment of a computing device 100, wherethe client machine 102 and server 106 illustrated in FIG. 1A can bedeployed as and/or executed on any embodiment of the computing device100 illustrated and described herein. Included within the computingdevice 100 is a system bus 150 that communicates with the followingcomponents: a central processing unit 121; a main memory 122; storagememory 128; an input/output (I/O) controller 123; display devices124A-124N; an installation device 116; and a network interface 118. Inone embodiment, the storage memory 128 includes: an operating system,software routines, and a client agent 120. The I/O controller 123, insome embodiments, is further connected to a key board 126, and apointing device 127. Other embodiments may include an I/O controller 123connected to more than one input/output device 130A-130N.

FIG. 1C illustrates one embodiment of a computing device 100, where theclient machine 102 and server 106 illustrated in FIG. 1A can be deployedas and/or executed on any embodiment of the computing device 100illustrated and described herein. Included within the computing device100 is a system bus 150 that communicates with the following components:a bridge 170, and a first I/O device 130A. In another embodiment, thebridge 170 is in further communication with the main central processingunit 121, where the central processing unit 121 can further communicatewith a second I/O device 130B, a main memory 122, and a cache memory140. Included within the central processing unit 121, are I/O ports, amemory port 103, and a main processor.

Embodiments of the computing machine 100 can include a centralprocessing unit 121 characterized by any one of the following componentconfigurations: logic circuits that respond to and process instructionsfetched from the main memory unit 122; a microprocessor unit, such as:those manufactured by Intel Corporation; those manufactured by MotorolaCorporation; those manufactured by Transmeta Corporation of Santa Clara,Calif.; the RS/6000 processor such as those manufactured byInternational Business Machines; a processor such as those manufacturedby Advanced Micro Devices; or any other combination of logic circuits.Still other embodiments of the central processing unit 122 may includeany combination of the following: a microprocessor, a microcontroller, acentral processing unit with a single processing core, a centralprocessing unit with two processing cores, or a central processing unitwith more than one processing core.

While FIG. 1C illustrates a computing device 100 that includes a singlecentral processing unit 121, in some embodiments the computing device100 can include one or more processing units 121. In these embodiments,the computing device 100 may store and execute firmware or otherexecutable instructions that, when executed, direct the one or moreprocessing units 121 to simultaneously execute instructions or tosimultaneously execute instructions on a single piece of data. In otherembodiments, the computing device 100 may store and execute firmware orother executable instructions that, when executed, direct the one ormore processing units to each execute a section of a group ofinstructions. For example, each processing unit 121 may be instructed toexecute a portion of a program or a particular module within a program.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 121 can include one or moreprocessing cores. For example, the processing unit 121 may have twocores, four cores, eight cores, etc. In one embodiment, the processingunit 121 may comprise one or more parallel processing cores. Theprocessing cores of the processing unit 121, may in some embodimentsaccess available memory as a global address space, or in otherembodiments, memory within the computing device 100 can be segmented andassigned to a particular core within the processing unit 121. In oneembodiment, the one or more processing cores or processors in thecomputing device 100 can each access local memory. In still anotherembodiment, memory within the computing device 100 can be shared amongstone or more processors or processing cores, while other memory can beaccessed by particular processors or subsets of processors. Inembodiments where the computing device 100 includes more than oneprocessing unit, the multiple processing units can be included in asingle integrated circuit (IC). These multiple processors, in someembodiments, can be linked together by an internal high speed bus, whichmay be referred to as an element interconnect bus.

In embodiments where the computing device 100 includes one or moreprocessing units 121, or a processing unit 121 including one or moreprocessing cores, the processors can execute a single instructionsimultaneously on multiple pieces of data (SIMD), or in otherembodiments can execute multiple instructions simultaneously on multiplepieces of data (MIMD). In some embodiments, the computing device 100 caninclude any number of SIMD and MIMD processors.

The computing device 100, in some embodiments, can include a graphicsprocessor or a graphics-processing unit (Not Shown). The graphicsprocessing unit can include any combination of software and hardware,and can further input graphics data and graphics instructions, render agraphic from the inputted data and instructions, and output the renderedgraphic. In some embodiments, the graphics processing unit can beincluded within the processing unit 121. In other embodiments, thecomputing device 100 can include one or more processing units 121, whereat least one processing unit 121 is dedicated to processing andrendering graphics.

One embodiment of the computing machine 100 includes a centralprocessing unit 121 that communicates with cache memory 140 via asecondary bus also known as a backside bus, while another embodiment ofthe computing machine 100 includes a central processing unit 121 thatcommunicates with cache memory via the system bus 150. The local systembus 150 can, in some embodiments, also be used by the central processingunit to communicate with more than one type of I/O device 130A-130N. Insome embodiments, the local system bus 150 can be any one of thefollowing types of buses: a VESA VL bus; an ISA bus; an EISA bus; aMicroChannel Architecture (MCA) bus; a PCI bus; a PCI-X bus; aPCI-Express bus; an AGP bus; or a NuBus. Other embodiments of thecomputing machine 100 include an I/O device 130A-130N that is a videodisplay 124 that communicates with the central processing unit 121.Still other versions of the computing machine 100 include a processor121 connected to an I/O device 130A-130N via any one of the followingconnections: HyperTransport, Rapid I/O, or InfiniBand. Furtherembodiments of the computing machine 100 include a processor 121 thatcommunicates with one I/O device 130A using a local interconnect bus anda second I/O device 130B using a direct connection.

The computing device 100, in some embodiments, includes a main memoryunit 122 and cache memory 140. The cache memory 140 can be any memorytype, and in some embodiments can be any one of the following types ofmemory: SRAM; BSRAM; or EDRAM. Other embodiments include cache memory140 and a main memory unit 122 that can be any one of the followingtypes of memory: Static random access memory (SRAM), Burst SRAM orSynchBurst SRAM (BSRAM); Dynamic random access memory (DRAM); Fast PageMode DRAM (FPM DRAM); Enhanced DRAM (EDRAM), Extended Data Output RAM(EDO RAM); Extended Data Output DRAM (EDO DRAM); Burst Extended DataOutput DRAM (BEDO DRAM); Enhanced DRAM (EDRAM); synchronous DRAM(SDRAM); JEDEC SRAM; PC100 SDRAM; Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM);Enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM); SyncLink DRAM (SLDRAM); Direct Rambus DRAM(DRDRAM); Ferroelectric RAM (FRAM); Memristor based memory; or any othertype of memory. Further embodiments include a central processing unit121 that can access the main memory 122 via: a system bus 150; a memoryport 103; or any other connection, bus or port that allows the processor121 to access memory 122.

One embodiment of the computing device 100 provides support for any oneof the following installation devices 116: a CD-ROM drive, a CD-R/RWdrive, a DVD-ROM drive, tape drives of various formats, a USB device,Secure Digital card, NetBoot or iPXE firmware, a bootable medium, abootable CD, a bootable CD for GNU/Linux distribution such as KNOPPIX®,a hard-drive or any other device suitable for installing applications orsoftware. Applications can in some embodiments include a client agent120, or any portion of a client agent 120. The computing device 100 mayfurther include a storage device 128 that can be either one or more harddisk drives, or one or more redundant arrays of independent disks; wherethe storage device is configured to store an operating system, software,programs applications, or at least a portion of the client agent 120. Afurther embodiment of the computing device 100 includes an installationdevice 116 that is used as the storage device 128.

The computing device 100 may further include a network interface 118 tointerface to a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN) or theInternet through a variety of connections including, but not limited to,standard telephone lines, LAN or WAN links (e.g., 802.11, T1, T3, 56kb,X.25, SNA, DECNET), broadband connections (e.g., ISDN, Frame Relay, ATM,Gigabit Ethernet, Ethernet-over-SONET), wireless connections, or somecombination of any or all of the above. Connections can also beestablished using a variety of communication protocols (e.g., TCP/IP,IPX, SPX, NetBIOS, Ethernet, ARCNET, SONET, SDH, Fiber Distributed DataInterface (FDDI), RS232, RS485, IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b,IEEE 802.11g, CDMA, GSM, WiMax and direct asynchronous connections). Oneversion of the computing device 100 includes a network interface 118able to communicate with additional computing devices 100′ via any typeand/or form of gateway or tunneling protocol such as Secure Socket Layer(SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS), or the Citrix Gateway Protocolmanufactured by Citrix Systems, Inc. Versions of the network interface118 can comprise any one of: a built-in network adapter; a networkinterface card; a PCMCIA network card; a card bus network adapter; awireless network adapter; a USB network adapter; a modem; or any otherdevice suitable for interfacing the computing device 100 to a networkcapable of communicating and performing the methods and systemsdescribed herein.

Embodiments of the computing device 100 include any one of the followingI/O devices 130A-130N: a keyboard 126; a pointing device 127; mice;trackpads; an optical pen; trackballs; microphones; drawing tablets;video displays; speakers; inkjet printers; laser printers; anddye-sublimation printers; or any other input/output device able toperform the methods and systems described herein. An I/O controller 123may in some embodiments connect to multiple I/O devices 103A-130N tocontrol the one or more I/O devices. Some embodiments of the I/O devices130A-130N may be configured to provide storage or an installation medium116, while others may provide a universal serial bus (USB) interface forreceiving USB storage devices such as the USB Flash Drive line ofdevices manufactured by Twintech Industry, Inc. Still other embodimentsinclude an I/O device 130 that may be a bridge between the system bus150 and an external communication bus, such as: a USB bus; an AppleDesktop Bus; an RS-232 serial connection; a SCSI bus; a FireWire bus; aFireWire 800 bus; an Ethernet bus; an AppleTalk bus; a Gigabit Ethernetbus; an Asynchronous Transfer Mode bus; a HIPPI bus; a Super HIPPI bus;a SerialPlus bus; a SCI/LAMP bus; a FibreChannel bus; or a SerialAttached small computer system interface bus.

In some embodiments, the computing machine 100 can connect to multipledisplay devices 124A-124N, in other embodiments the computing device 100can connect to a single display device 124, while in still otherembodiments the computing device 100 connects to display devices124A-124N that are the same type or form of display, or to displaydevices that are different types or forms. Embodiments of the displaydevices 124A-124N can be supported and enabled by the following: one ormultiple I/O devices 130A-130N; the I/O controller 123; a combination ofI/O device(s) 130A-130N and the I/O controller 123; any combination ofhardware and software able to support a display device 124A-124N; anytype and/or form of video adapter, video card, driver, and/or library tointerface, communicate, connect or otherwise use the display devices124A-124N. The computing device 100 may in some embodiments beconfigured to use one or multiple display devices 124A-124N, theseconfigurations include: having multiple connectors to interface tomultiple display devices 124A-124N; having multiple video adapters, witheach video adapter connected to one or more of the display devices124A-124N; having an operating system configured to support multipledisplays 124A-124N; using circuits and software included within thecomputing device 100 to connect to and use multiple display devices124A-124N; and executing software on the main computing device 100 andmultiple secondary computing devices to enable the main computing device100 to use a secondary computing device's display as a display device124A-124N for the main computing device 100. Still other embodiments ofthe computing device 100 may include multiple display devices 124A-124Nprovided by multiple secondary computing devices and connected to themain computing device 100 via a network.

In some embodiments, the computing machine 100 can execute any operatingsystem, while in other embodiments the computing machine 100 can executeany of the following operating systems: versions of the MICROSOFTWINDOWS operating systems such as WINDOWS 3.x; WINDOWS 95; WINDOWS 98;WINDOWS 2000; WINDOWS NT 3.51; WINDOWS NT 4.0; WINDOWS CE; WINDOWS XP;and WINDOWS VISTA; the different releases of the Unix and Linuxoperating systems; any version of the MAC OS manufactured by AppleComputer; OS/2, manufactured by International Business Machines; anyembedded operating system; any real-time operating system; any opensource operating system; any proprietary operating system; any operatingsystems for mobile computing devices; or any other operating system. Instill another embodiment, the computing machine 100 can execute multipleoperating systems. For example, the computing machine 100 can executePARALLELS or another virtualization platform that can execute or managea virtual machine executing a first operating system, while thecomputing machine 100 executes a second operating system different fromthe first operating system.

The computing machine 100 can be embodied in any one of the followingcomputing devices: a computing workstation; a desktop computer; a laptopor notebook computer; a server; a handheld computer; a mobile telephone;a portable telecommunication device; a media playing device; a gamingsystem; a mobile computing device; a netbook; a device of the IPODfamily of devices manufactured by Apple Computer; any one of thePLAYSTATION family of devices manufactured by the Sony Corporation; anyone of the Nintendo family of devices manufactured by Nintendo Co; anyone of the XBOX family of devices manufactured by the MicrosoftCorporation; or any other type and/or form of computing,telecommunications or media device that is capable of communication andthat has sufficient processor power and memory capacity to perform themethods and systems described herein. In other embodiments the computingmachine 100 can be a mobile device such as any one of the followingmobile devices: a JAVA-enabled cellular telephone or personal digitalassistant (PDA), such as the i55sr, i58sr, i85s, i88s, i90c, i95c1, orthe im1100, all of which are manufactured by Motorola Corp; the 6035 orthe 7135, manufactured by Kyocera; the i300 or i330, manufactured bySamsung Electronics Co., Ltd; the TREO 180, 270, 600, 650, 680, 700p,700w, or 750 smart phone manufactured by Palm, Inc; any computing devicethat has different processors, operating systems, and input devicesconsistent with the device; or any other mobile computing device capableof performing the methods and systems described herein. In still otherembodiments, the computing device 100 can be any one of the followingmobile computing devices: any one series of Blackberry, or otherhandheld device manufactured by Research In Motion Limited; the iPhonemanufactured by Apple Computer; Palm Pre; a Pocket PC; a Pocket PCPhone; or any other handheld mobile device.

In some embodiments, the computing device 100 may have differentprocessors, operating systems, and input devices consistent with thedevice. For example, in one embodiment, the computing device 100 is aTREO 180, 270, 600, 650, 680, 700p, 700w, or 750 smart phonemanufactured by Palm, Inc. In some of these embodiments, the TREO smartphone is operated under the control of the PalmOS operating system andincludes a stylus input device as well as a five-way navigator device.

In other embodiments the computing device 100 is a mobile device, suchas a JAVA-enabled cellular telephone or personal digital assistant(PDA), such as the i55sr, i58sr, i85s, i88s, i90c, i95c1, or the im1100,all of which are manufactured by Motorola Corp. of Schaumburg, Ill., the6035 or the 7135, manufactured by Kyocera of Kyoto, Japan, or the i300or i330, manufactured by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., of Seoul, Korea.In some embodiments, the computing device 100 is a mobile devicemanufactured by Nokia of Finland, or by Sony Ericsson MobileCommunications AB of Lund, Sweden.

In still other embodiments, the computing device 100 is a Blackberryhandheld or smart phone, such as the devices manufactured by Research InMotion Limited, including the Blackberry 7100 series, 8700 series, 7700series, 7200 series, the Blackberry 7520, or the Blackberry Pearl 8100.In yet other embodiments, the computing device 100 is a smart phone,Pocket PC, Pocket PC Phone, or other handheld mobile device supportingMicrosoft Windows Mobile Software. Moreover, the computing device 100can be any workstation, desktop computer, laptop or notebook computer,server, handheld computer, mobile telephone, any other computer, orother form of computing or telecommunications device that is capable ofcommunication and that has sufficient processor power and memorycapacity to perform the operations described herein.

In some embodiments, the computing device 100 is a digital audio player.In one of these embodiments, the computing device 100 is a digital audioplayer such as the Apple IPOD, IPOD Touch, IPOD NANO, and IPOD SHUFFLElines of devices, manufactured by Apple Computer of Cupertino, Calif. Inanother of these embodiments, the digital audio player may function asboth a portable media player and as a mass storage device. In otherembodiments, the computing device 100 is a digital audio player such asthe DigitalAudioPlayer Select MP3 players, manufactured by SamsungElectronics America, of Ridgefield Park, N.J., or the Motorola m500 orm25 Digital Audio Players, manufactured by Motorola Inc. of Schaumburg,Ill. In still other embodiments, the computing device 100 is a portablemedia player, such as the Zen Vision W, the Zen Vision series, the ZenPortable Media Center devices, or the Digital MP3 line of MP3 players,manufactured by Creative Technologies Ltd. In yet other embodiments, thecomputing device 100 is a portable media player or digital audio playersupporting file formats including, but not limited to, MP3, WAV,M4A/AAC, WMA Protected AAC, AIFF, Audible audiobook, Apple Losslessaudio file formats and .mov, .m4v, and .mp4 MPEG-4 (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC)video file formats.

In some embodiments, the computing device 100 comprises a combination ofdevices, such as a mobile phone combined with a digital audio player orportable media player. In one of these embodiments, the computing device100 is a Motorola RAZR or Motorola ROKR line of combination digitalaudio players and mobile phones. In another of these embodiments, thecomputing device 100 is an iPhone smartphone, manufactured by AppleComputer of Cupertino, Calif.

FIGS. 1A-1C are illustrative in nature, and the specific identificationof one or more hardware and/or software vendors, devices, services, andother examples are non-limiting. As newer versions of each respectiveservice or device is developed, such new version may also or instead beused, as well as other new services and devices not listed herein.

Section B: Systems for Providing Shell Integration for an ApplicationExecuting Remotely on a Server

Referring to FIG. 2, a block diagram illustrating an illustrative system200 for providing shell integration for an application executingremotely on a server is shown and described. In brief overview, thesystem 200 includes a server 106. A server agent 210 executing on theserver 106 communicates with a hosted application 220 executing on theserver 106. In some embodiments, the hosted application 220 executeswithin a newly created user session. In some embodiments, the hostedapplication 220 executes within an existing user session. The serveragent 210 communicates over a network 104 with a client agent 230. Insome embodiments, the server agent 210 communicates with the clientagent 230 over a remote presentation layer protocol, such as thosedescribed herein. The client agent 230 executes on a client computingdevice 102 and may communicate with the Shell 240 of the operatingsystem of the client device 102. The shell 240 may communicate with alocal process 250.

In some embodiments a process executing on a server generates outputdata and window attribute data. The output data and window attributedata is transmitted by the server agent 210 to a client agent 230. Insome embodiments, the process may also be referred to as a remoteapplication 220 or a hosted application 220. In other embodiments, thelocal process executing on a client computing device 102 receives theoutput or graphical data and window attribute data from the client agent230 and directs the display of the received graphical or windowattribute data in a desktop environment. In some embodiments, a shell240 executing on a client device 102 provides a display of userinterface elements in a desktop environment. This shell may be referredto variously as a finder, a graphical user interface (GUI), a window orX-windows interface, or any other similar term. In some embodiments, theshell 240 displays graphical data associated with the remote application220 in accordance with the attribute data associated with theapplication 220.

Still referring to FIG. 2, and in greater detail, the client agent 230executes on the local computing device 102. Although referred to as aclient agent, in some embodiments, client agent 230 may be referred toas a receiver, local client, local client process, local client agent,or any other similar term. In one embodiment, the local computing deviceis a computing device as described in connection with FIGS. 1A-1C. Inanother embodiment, the local computing device is a client device 102,connecting to a server 106 to access one or more resources available toa user of the local computing device 102. In still another embodiment,the client agent 230 is part of a presentation layer protocol agent. Inanother embodiment, the client agent 230 is in communication with apresentation layer protocol agent. In various embodiments, the clientagent may comprise software, hardware or any combination of hardware andsoftware.

The server agent 210 executes on the remote computing device 106. Aswith the client agent 230, in some embodiments, the server agent may bereferred to as a remote agent, a remote client, a remote process, aserver process, or any other similar term. In one embodiment, the remotecomputing device is a computing device as described in connection FIGS.1A-1C. In another embodiment, the server agent 210 is part of apresentation layer protocol agent. In still another embodiment, theserver agent 210 is in communication with a presentation layer protocolagent. In various embodiments, the server agent may comprise software,hardware or any combination of hardware and software.

In some embodiments, the client agent 230 includes a receiver (e.g., avirtual machine receiver) for receiving, from the server agent 210, dataassociated with a desktop environment generated on the remote machine106. In one of these embodiments, for example, the client agent 230includes a receiver—which may be provided as, by way of example, adynamically linked library (.dll) component—that receives windowcreation and window process data from the server agent 210 for use indisplaying a local version of a window generated on the remote machine106. In some embodiments, the client agent 230 may receive data, such asoutput data and window attribute data over one or more connections. Inone embodiment, one or more connections may be multiplexed into one ormore virtual channels. Such multiplexing may allow for different virtualchannels to have different bandwidth limits or different priorities,while still being part of a single transport layer connection. This mayreduce the transport layer overhead required and provide for SSL or VPNtunnel capability, while still allowing per-channel compression,buffering, and management of communication priority between server agent210 and client agent 230. In some embodiments, such virtual channels maybe dedicated to specific content types or purposes. For example, a firsthigh-priority virtual channel may be dedicated to transmission of outputdata, while a second low-priority virtual channel may be dedicated totransmission of taskbar thumbnail images, discussed in more detailbelow. In some embodiments, virtual channels may be opened or closedwithout needing to disestablish or reestablish the transport layerconnection over which they communicate.

In one embodiment, the shell 240 is software providing a user interfaceto the user of a computing device. In one embodiment, a shell 240 may besupplemented or replaced with a third-party shell. In MICROSOFT WINDOWS,the default shell is EXPLORER, which determines the configuration of thedesktop (e.g., the task bar, notification area, start menu, etc.).Although referred to as a shell, as discussed above, the shell may alsobe referred to as a GUI, a finder, an explorer, a windows interface, orany other similar term.

In some embodiments, the client agent 230 includes functionality forcommunicating with the shell 240 to modify a display of the desktop. Inone of these embodiments, the client agent 230 includes a transmittersending instructions to a component in the operating system thatgenerates and maintains a display of data in the desktop environment. Inanother of these embodiments, the client agent 230 includes a componentthat provides the client agent 230 with functionality for storing windowattribute data or transmitting display instructions to the operatingsystem; for example, the client agent 230 may include adynamically-linked library component for maintaining or modifyingtaskbar data. In some embodiments, the transmitter is in communicationwith a receiver in the client agent 230 that receives window attributedata and output data from the server agent 210. In one of theseembodiments, the receiver within the client agent 230 receives data fromthe server agent 210 and forwards the received data to the transmitter,which sends instructions to the operating system based upon theforwarded data. In other embodiments, the client agent 230 includes acomponent for storing data received from the server agent 210, such as,by way of example, window attribute data.

In some embodiments, the client agent 230 transmits to the server agent210 data from the interaction of the user with a destination list. Insome embodiments, the user clicks on a Shell Item or Shell Link in thedestination list. The client agent 230 receives the user interactionwith the list and transmits the data to the server agent 210. The serveragent 210 communicates with the hosted application 220. The hostedapplication 220 receives the information and processes the information.In some embodiments, the hosted application 220, responsive to the userinteraction, may open a document requested by the user. In someembodiments, the hosted application 220 may launch a second applicationresponsive to the user interaction.

With reference to FIG. 3, a screen shot of one embodiment of a Jump Listor Destination List is shown. Destination lists provide quick and easyaccess to common application tasks or content. Destination lists providethe means or mechanism to launch a new instance of an application, topin or unpin an application to the taskbar, and to close theapplication. A user can access the Jump List, e.g., by right clicking onan application icon in the Taskbar. FIG. 3 illustrates a customized JumpList. By default, a Jump List contains a Recent category that ispopulated automatically for file-based applications through theSHAddToRecentDocs function. This function adds the used “item”(document) to the Shell's 240 list of recently used documents. Inaddition to updating its list of recent documents, the Shell 240 adds ashortcut to the user's Recent directory. The operating system Taskbaruses that list and Recent directory to populate the list of recent itemsin the Jump Lists. The Shell 240 does the work automatically on behalfof the application, if the application's file type has a registeredhandler (this does not have to be the default handler). Anytime a userdouble-clicks on a file type with a registered handler, before the OSlaunches the application it may automatically call SHAddToRecentDocs onbehalf of the application, which inserts the item in the Recent list andeventually into the Jump List Recent Category. The same automaticbehavior may occur when using the OS common file dialog to open filesthrough applications. The OS may automatically insert items into theJump Lists unless the application specifically removes thisfunctionality. Users may also have the option to remove any item fromtheir Jump List(s). By explicitly removing an item from the Jump List,it is inserted it into the Removed Item list.

Referring to FIGS. 4-6, illustrated in the figures are screenshots ofprior art which demonstrate issues with the behavior of remoteapplications without the benefit of shell integration. Now referring toFIG. 4, a screen shot of a default Destination List 401 for a remotelyexecuting application 220 is shown. For remotely executed applications220, a default Jump List is created for each instance of thepresentation layer protocol engine and the name of the presentationlayer protocol Icon and “HDX Plugin” (or “Client Engine” depending onclient version) name shows up in the list. The application 220 can bepinned but an attempt to launch later, of course, results in an errorbecause the presentation layer protocol engine is not provided withinput parameters. FIG. 5 illustrates an error dialog box 501 displayedwhen an error occurs when launching a pinned presentation layer protocolengine without context. FIG. 6 illustrates a screen shot 601 of a verylimited Destination List for remotely executing application 220 withonly a “Close Window” option. FIG. 7 illustrates a screen shot of apinned media player.

FIG. 8 illustrates a screen shot of storage for automatic and customdestinations. For instance, the destinations, such as pinned categoryand known categories, may be stored in an automaticDestinations-ms filewhile tasks, such as custom categories and user task may be stored in acustomDestinations-ms file. A Destination List file is versioned andconsists of an array (Categories) of arrays (Shell Items and ShellLinks). In some embodiments, all numerical values are in decimal formatunless otherwise indicated.

The following table 1 illustrates the format of the outermost structurethat may be used to encapsulate the entire custom Destination List file.

TABLE 1 Size of File field Offset (bytes) Value(s) Notes 0 4  2 Versionof the file format. Current version is “2.0”. 4 4 ≧0 Count of allDestination Category instances in the file. The type and payload of eachDestination Category is defined below. 8 4  0 Unused/reserved. 12 restof file varies Array of one or more Destination Category instances.

The following table 2 illustrates the format of each DestinationCategory instance contained in the Destination List file. TheDestination Category instances are usually persisted in the file in theorder of the numerical value (i.e. Custom Categories, then KnownCategories instance, and finally the Custom Tasks Category instance.)

TABLE 2 Size of File field Offset (bytes) Value(s) Notes ≧12 4 0, 1, 2Specifies the Destination Category Type of this instance. Valid types:0: Custom Category Type - A collection of custom destinations. 1: KnownCategory Type - A collection of known destinations, e.g., Recent orFrequent documents. 2: Custom Tasks Category Type - A collection ofcustom tasks. ≧16 varies varies Payload. The structure depends on thetype specified above. Refer to the following tables.

TABLE 3 Destination Category Type 0 (Custom Category) Payload Size ofFile field Offset (bytes) Value(s) Notes ≧16 varies [Title] CustomCategory Title as a BSTR UNICODE string (Byte Count followed by String).This is the label of the Custom Category as shown in the DestinationList. Varies 4 Count of Number of destinations (Shell Items items orShell Links) in the category. Varies ≧16, varies Array of destinations:Refer varies to the Shell Objects (Shell Item or Shell Link) table.Varies 4 0xBABFF Category Signature. Delimiter BAB constant whichterminates each Destination Category section in the file.

TABLE 4 Destination Category Type 1 (Known Category) Payload Size ofFile field Offset (bytes) Value(s) Notes varies 4 Count of Number ofdestinations (Shell Items items or Shell Links) in the category. Varies≧16, varies Array of destinations: Refer to the Shell varies Objects(Shell Item or Shell Link) table. Varies 4 0xBABFF Category Signature.Delimiter BAB constant which terminates each Destination Categorysection in the file.

TABLE 5 Destination Category Type 2 (Custom Tasks Category) Payload Sizeof File field Offset (bytes) Value(s) Notes varies 4 Count of Number ofdestinations (Shell Links items in this case) in the category. Varies≧16, varies Array of destinations: Refer to the varies Shell Objects(Shell Item or Shell Link) table. The array in this special category isof Shell Links only. varies 4 0xBABFF Category Signature. Delimiter BABconstant which terminates each Destination Category section in the file.

TABLE 6 Shell Objects (Shell Item or Shell Link) Size of File fieldOffset (bytes) Value(s) Notes ≧20 16 CLSID of For example, CLSID ofShellLink: persisted 01 14 02 00 00 00 00 00 c0 00 00 00 shell 00 00 0046 object varies Varies varies Persisted Shell Objects as property bagcontaining name-value pairs derived from IShellObject/IShellLink andincluding but not limited to Display Name/Label Icon Reference Path todocument/content/URL Path to exe Exe name Arguments Etc. Some of theproperties may not be relevant to the DL itself and to remoting overICA/HDX, e.g., Computer Name, Creator SID, etc. They are believed to bepersisted in the DL file by Microsoft simply for the convenience ofdumping all properties of the Shell Object. A Shell Objects ispersistent in the form of a serialized link (.LNK) file.

FIG. 9 illustrates a screen shot of replacing the custom DestinationList of Internet Explorer 8. In some embodiments, only the customdestinations are replaced. The original pinned items from the webbrowser's automatic Destination List file remain intact. In someembodiments, the name of the Custom Destination List file is computed asa CRC-64 of the App ID string in upper case, and the extension is.customDestinations-ms. In some embodiments, the name of the AutomaticDestination List file is computed as a CRC-64 of the App ID string inupper case, and the extension is .automaticDestinations-ms. In otherwords, in some embodiments, the names of the corresponding Custom andAutomatic Destination List files are identical but the extensions aredifferent. In some embodiments, the Custom Destination List files arestored in the following location: % APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations. In some embodiments, theAutomatic Destination List files are stored in the following location: %APPDATA %\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations.

FIG. 10 is a screenshot of a custom application built to present theautomatic Destination List of Notepad. In some embodiments, only theautomatic destinations are replaced. In some embodiments, there aremultiple options in terms of End User Experience (EUX) design for remoteapplications. In some embodiments, the systems may keep remoteapplications separate from the equivalent local apps, (i.e., do notgroup them on the Taskbar and therefore do not share the DestinationList). In some embodiments, the Destination Lists of local and remoteapplications of the same type (same App ID) are merged. There are alsodifferent options as to how to merge the Destination Lists. In someembodiments, the Destination Lists are shared but categories areseparate. The system marks or identifies categories holding destinationsor tasks accessed by or applied to the remote application 220. In someembodiments, the system shares the Destination Lists and theircategories, but marks or identifies destinations or tasks accessed by orapplied to the remote applications. In some embodiments, the systemshares the Destination Lists and their categories and merges tasks anddestinations completely and seamlessly to the user. This eliminatesduplicative tasks where appropriate. In some embodiments, theDestination Lists are customized and can be ported to non-Windowsplatforms. For example, a custom Receiver category and a Preferencestask within it, which allows the user to quickly open a configurationmenu on a per application basis. For example, the user might configuredrive-mapping settings, special folders, USB devices, or other securityor usability settings for a specific application. In some embodiments,the default taskbar tasks can be trimmed down to a “Close Window” onlyoption in order to prevent pinning. This may be used in cases where theremote application 220 is launched via a low-level SDK and the Citrixself-service plugin stub executables, or equivalent stub executables,are not available to represent the application on the taskbar.

FIGS. 11A-11D illustrates visual illustrations of some of the optionsfor Destination Lists. There could also be other options or permutationsof variations not illustrated in the figures. FIG. 11A illustrates adestination list for remote application 220 not grouped with adestination list for a corresponding local application. This may be donefor simplicity of Destination List handling. FIG. 11B illustrates adestination list for remote application 220 grouped with a destinationlist for a corresponding local application, but with separatecategories. The recent category for the remote MS Word application isseparate and is identified as Recent (Hosted). FIG. 11C illustrates adestination list for the remote application 220 grouped with adestination list for the corresponding local application with sharedcategories and marked remote application destinations. The Recentcategory is shared between the local and remote MS Word application. Butthe destinations accessed by the remote application 220 are marked withan overlay icon at the lower right corner of the application's FTA icon.FIG. 11D illustrates a destination list for the remote application 220grouped with a destination list for the corresponding local applicationwith shared categories and seamlessly merged destinations. In thisembodiment, the user cannot tell which destinations are accessed by thelocal MS Word and which ones are accessed by remote MS Word (i.e.,integration is completely seamless), e.g., because two distinguishableicons are not used.

FIG. 12 illustrates a screen shot of a customized Internet Explorer 8Destination List with a Custom Citrix Receiver Category and aPreferences Task. The illustrated customization can be done consistentlyfor all remotely executed applications.

FIG. 13 illustrates a Close-Window only option to prevent pinning,although the Destination List for the application is still available.This may be done by registering the Destination List owning process as ahost process. For example, to register CustomApp.exe as a host process,the following registry settings may be used:

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\CustomApp.exe]

“IsHostApp”=″″

Thumbnail Toolbars. Thumbnail toolbars provide access to a particularwindow's key commands without making the user restore or activate theapplication's window. An active toolbar control can be embedded in thatwindow's thumbnail preview. For example, a Media Player might offerstandard media transport controls such as play, pause, mute, and stop.The UI may display this toolbar directly below the thumbnail as shown inFIG. 14, even when the application is remotely hosted.

When an application displays a window, its Taskbar button is created bythe system. When the button is in place, the Taskbar sends aTaskbarButtonCreated message to the window. Its value is computed bycalling RegisterWindowMessage(L(“TaskbarButtonCreated”)). Then it issafe for the app to populate its Thumbnail Toolbar with up to 7customizable buttons using the ITaskbarList3 interface methods.

Each button's ID, image, tooltip, and state are defined in a THUMBBUTTONstructure, which is then passed to the taskbar. The app can show,enable, disable, or hide buttons from the thumbnail toolbar as requiredby its current state.

When a button is clicked, a WM_COMMAND message that contains the buttonID is sent to the associated application window. The application handleswhatever action it has assigned to the button.

Overlay Icons. FIG. 15 displays an overlay icon 1501 in the context of aremotely executing application 220. An application can communicatecertain notifications and status to the user through its taskbar buttonby the display of small overlays on the button. These overlays aresimilar to the type of existing overlay used for shortcuts or securitynotifications, displayed at the lower-right corner of the button. Todisplay an overlay icon, the taskbar must be in the default large iconmode, as shown in FIG. 15.

Icon overlays serve as a contextual notification of status, and areintended to negate the need for a separate notification area status iconto communicate that information to the user. They are intended to supplyimportant, long-standing status or notifications such as network status,messenger status, or new mail.

Progress Bars. FIGS. 16A-D illustrate various states of the progressbars for a remotely executed application 220. A taskbar button can beused to display a progress bar. This enables a window to provideprogress information to the user without that user having to switch tothe window itself. The user can stay productive in another applicationwhile seeing at a glance the progress of one or more operationsoccurring in other windows. It is intended that a progress bar in ataskbar button reflects a more detailed progress indicator in the windowitself. This feature can be used to track file copies, downloads,installations, media burning, or any operation that's going to take aperiod of time. This feature is not intended for use with normallyperipheral actions such as the loading of a webpage or the printing of adocument. That type of progress should continue to be shown in awindow's status bar.

The taskbar button progress bar is a similar experience to the familiarProgress Bar control. It can display either determinate progress basedon a completed percentage of the operation or an indeterminatemarquee-style progress to indicate that the operation is in progresswithout any prediction of time remaining. It can also show that theoperation is paused or has encountered an error and requires userintervention.

FIG. 16A illustrates a progress bar state that is normal. FIG. 16Billustrates a progress bar state that is intermediate. FIG. 16Cillustrates a progress bar state error. FIG. 16D illustrates a progressbar state paused. In some embodiments, the normal and intermediatestates are illustrated as a different color than an error or pausedprogress state. For instance, in one embodiment, the normal andintermediate progress states may be displayed in green, indicating thatthere are no problems and the application is progressing. An error statemay be displayed in red, indicating that there is an error causing theapplication to stop. A yellow progress state may indicate that theprogress of the application is paused, but there are no problems.

Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) offers many new featuresnot previously available, among which include a tighter integration withthe Shell, including Destination Lists, Thumbnail toolbars, and Overlayicons. Regarding Destination Lists, IE 9 permits web developers tocustomize their web pages so as to add custom tasks and categories tothe pages' HTML markup and to be included in the website's ownDestination List, should the user decide to pin the site to theirtaskbar. IE 9 creates the necessary shortcuts (URL shortcut files oftype .website) in the user's profile and generates separate App UserModel IDs for these shortcuts, and services the website's custom taskactions by automatically launching new instances of IE 9, as needed.Stated differently, individual web sites may have distinct destinationlists from each other and from the web browser itself. IE 9 is anexample of an application with advanced Shell integration functionality.The systems and methods described herein ensure that IE 9, running as aremotely executed application 220, is seamlessly integrated with theShell 240 of the client computing device 102, such that the user cannotperceive that IE 9 and the web sites it loads are actually running onthe remote server 106. Remotely executing IE 9 appears substantiallyindistinguishable from locally executing IE 9 in terms of Shellintegration.

FIG. 17 illustrates a screen shot of IE 9 Destination List Tasks for aCommunication site. FIG. 18 illustrates a screenshot of IE 9 thumbnailtool bar buttons to control video. FIG. 19 illustrates a screenshot ofan overlay icon 1901 in Outlook Web Access window icon indicating anappointment notification.

Section C: Methods for Providing Shell Integration for an ApplicationExecuting Remotely on a Server

FIG. 20 illustrates a method for performing shell integration forDestination Lists for applications 220 executing remotely on a server106. Initially, in step 2001, a server agent 210 executing on a server106 launches an application 220 responsive to a request from a clientcomputing device 102. In step 2003, the server agent obtains anapplication identifier for the application 220. For example, the serveragent 210 may detect a window created by the launched application 220,and extract an application identifier from the window. In step 2005,server agent 210 generates a destination list for the application 220.For example, server agent 210 may parse a Destination List for thelaunched application 220 retrieved from storage, and may also detectreal-time changes to the Destination List performed by the launchedapplication 220. In step 2007, server agent 210 transmits the parsedDestination List for the launched application 220 to a client agent 230executing on the client computing device 102. In step 2009, client agent230 creates a stub executable (e.g., FIG. 2 local process 250) torepresent the application 220 executing remotely on the server 106 usingthe application identifier. In step 2011, client agent 230 configuresthe stub executable using the received parsed Destination List. In step2013, client agent 230 may create a local instance of the DestinationList using the parsed Destination List received from the server agent210. In step 2015, a client OS Shell executes the stub executableresponsive to intercepting user input on the client computing device 102such as user input triggering various items on the Destination Listintended for the application 220. In step 2017 the stub executabletransmits the user input on the Destination List to the client agent230. In step 2019, client agent 230 transmits the user input on theDestination List to the server agent 210. In step 2021, server agent 210transmits the user input on the Destination List to the serverapplication 220 associated with the Destination List.

In some embodiments, the system may use the same App ID generated by thesystem or a different App ID that may be generated by the client agent230. The App ID must be unique and there should be a one-to-one mappingto the server-side App ID used by the published application 220. In someembodiments, the client agent 230 performs the mapping, ensuring thatthe App ID is valid and unique. If the App ID is different, then thereis no Taskbar Grouping between local and remote instances of the sameapp, which may be desirable. In some embodiments, Destination Lists arestatic (created at app install time), others change dynamically. In someembodiments, with the created Destination List, references to theoriginal executable in any Shell Links are replaced with references tothe local Stub executable for the Destination List, followed by theoriginal executable reference in the form of a command-line parameter tothe local Stub executable. In some embodiments, the client agent 230only configures the Stub Executable. The OS Shell then calls it based onuser input, FTAs, or similar event.

In some embodiments, the server agent 210 launches the hostedapplication 220 and detects process and window creation. The serveragent 210 initiates Destination List remoting. Destination Lists may bedefined based on application user model identifiers (also known as AppID) which can be assigned per process but may also exist per window. Thesame process may have more than one Destination List if differentwindows of that process have different App IDs assigned. Additionally,App IDs might be explicitly set in the Destination List using methodssuch as ICustomDestinationList interface or SHAddToRecentDocs. Theserver agent 210 finds the App ID of the external process of thepublished application or its window. The server agent 210 generates thefile names where the Custom or Automatic Destination Lists for theapplication are stored. The server agent 210 parses the Destination Listinformation from the Custom or Automatic Destination List files used asa data store by the operating system. It converts the data from theoperating system format to the remote presentation layer protocolformat. The server agent 210 sends the Destination List information tothe client agent 230. In some embodiments, the client information mayinclude a host process identifier and/or a window identifier, an App ID(which may also serve as a unique identifier for the Destination List),a flag indicating if the App ID is explicit (set by the application 220)or implicit (system-generated or server agent 210 generated),Destination List type (Custom or Automatic), File Type Associations(including FTA extensions and icons), and full Destination Listinformation, which may include version, array of categories, array ofshell items and shell links within each category, array of propertiesfor each shell item or shell link (such as icons, display title,document or executable path, arguments). In some embodiments, the iconsfor shell items are explicitly added while marshaling the DestinationList protocol, although it can be added as a reference. The icons forshell links may be retrieved from the FTA.

In some embodiments, the server agent 210 interacts with multipleinterfaces or APIs in order to receive real time event notifications forwhen Destination Lists change. Upon such notification, the server agentinitiates communication with the client agent 230 to transmit updatesand related information. In some embodiments, the server agent 210 mayhook interfaces or APIs. The hooked interfaces may include theICustomDestinationList interface, which may affect the refreshing ofboth the Custom and Automatic Destination List files. Some of themethods of the ICustomDestinationList interface may include CommitList,which completes the Destination List transaction and declares the newlist ready for display. The server agent 210 may need to refresh it fromthe file and notify the client 102. Another interface method that may beutilized is the DeleteList, which deletes the Destination List. Theserver agent 210 may need to send a blank list to the client 102. Insome embodiments, a hooked interface method may be SetAppID, which setsthe unique App ID for the Destination List. This is the App ID for theDestination List used by the application process, which may generatemore than one Destination List. One example is Internet Explorer 9,which generates an AppID per website tab. Another API that may beutilizes is the SHAddToRecentDocs, which affects the refreshing of theAutomatic Destination file only. The client agent 230 receives theDestination List over a virtual channel from the server agent 210. Theclient agent 230 creates a Stub executable to represent the remoteapplication 220. In some embodiments, the client agent 230 reuses anexisting Stub executable. In some embodiments, a remote presentationprotocol client engine executable may be used as the stub executable,which would work for all the items in the Destination List, except forthe Default Taskbar Tasks. In some embodiments, low-level API hooking onthe client Shell may be used to fix the visual appearance (forapplication icons and text) as well as ensure that proper context existsfor pinning. In some embodiments, separate Stub executable are used, onefor each Destination List. The client agent 230 may configure orregister the stub executable. In some embodiments, the client agent 230may configure or register the Stub executable using the name to matchthe published application 220, icon to match the published application220, and App ID to match the Destination List. In some embodiments, theApp ID could be either of the following, depending on the configurationor usability requirements: the same App ID provided by the server agent210, an App ID generated by the client 102 based on process moduleinformation for the local application corresponding to the remotelyexecuting application 220, or a unique client-generated App ID. The AppID generated by the client can be used if an explicit App ID is notprovided by the server 106, which has the benefit of avoiding potentialdifferences in system-generated App IDs on different operating systemversions at the client 102 and the server 106. The client agent 230maintains a mapping table between the client-generated App ID and theexplicit App ID or App ID generated based on process module information.The approach for maintaining a mapping table is necessary to ensure thatthere is not grouping between local and remote instances of the sameapplication (i.e. there is no sharing of the Destination List betweenlocal and remote applications). This may be desirable for simplicity ofDestination List handling or usability reasons as illustrated in FIG.11A.

The client agent 230 may configure the stub executable so that the FTAsmatch the published application 220. FTA registration may include therespective App ID associated with the Destination List and icon thatwill be shown in Shell Links. The client agent 230 may configure thestub executable to call SHChangeNotify to notify the local shell thatthe FTAs have changes.

The client agent 230 may create a local instance of the Destination Listfile based on the data received from the server agent 210. The App IDused may be different for the local instance, as described above.References to the original executable in any Shell Links are replacedwith references to the local stub executable for the Destination List,followed by the original executable reference in the form of a commandline parameter to the local Stub executable. This ensures that the localstub executable is called and it can then opaquely forward the shelllink for processing to the server 106. The original document or content,or URL references in the Shell Items may be preserved. The client agent230 generates the file names where the Custom or Automatic DestinationLists for the application 220 are stored. The client agent 230 convertsthe data from the remote presentation layer protocol to the operatingsystem-private format and fills the Destination List information intothe custom or automatic Destination List files used as a data stored bythe operating system.

In some embodiments, the ICustomDesintationList interface and/orSHAddToRecentDocs API can be used to create the Custom or AutomaticDestination List files used by the local shell. A benefit of thisapproach is that if a Destination List changes dynamically during thelifetime of a remote application 220, the CommitList method of theICustomDestinationList interface will not only create a new DestinationList file but will also trigger event to the local Shell to refresh theDestination List's visual representation.

In some embodiments, when a user interacts with the icon of the localapplication on the local taskbar, such as through a right-click, theaction causes the Shell to read the Destination List files for its AppID and presents the Destination Lists as mini start menus for theapplication 220. In some embodiments, the user may right-click on apinned shortcut to a remotely executing application 220 or a localapplication if grouping with local applications is desired andperformed. In some embodiments, any action that involves launching thestub executable might also involve authenticating to enumerate andlaunch the application 220, if it is not already running.

In some embodiments, the launching of the application 220 triggers thestub executable registered for the Destination List, which in turnrequest the client agent 230 to launch the application 220 over a remotepresentation layer protocol. In some embodiments, pinning and/orunpinning is applied on the stub executable. Launching of theapplication 220 from a pinned shortcut works identically to directlylaunching the application 220. In some embodiments, the “Close Window”or “Close All Windows” option closes the application windows, which maytrigger disconnection from the remote session.

In some embodiments, the FTA processing is invoked by the OS Shell. Insome embodiments, the processing is invoked viaShellExecute/ShellExecuteEx/CreateProcess, which ultimately launches thestub executable with the original Shell Item as an argument. The stubexecutable then delegates the request to the client agent 230, whichforwards it opaquely to the published application 220 in the hostsession.

In some embodiments, the shell executes the modified shell link viaCreateProcess, which triggers the Stub executable followed by theremaining path (the original Shell Link) as a command-line parameter.The stub executable then delegates the request to the client agent 230,which forwards it opaquely to the published application 220 on theserver 106.

In some embodiments, when the application 220 terminates, the respectiveclient destination files will be deleted unless grouped with localapplications or unless there is a pinned shortcut to a publishedapplication 220. In some embodiments, the stub executable is registeredas host processes and the default taskbar tasks are trimmed down to a“Close Window” only option, which prevents pinning, as shown in FIG. 13.

In some embodiments, the App ID is a string identifier assigned toprocesses or windows of an application either explicitly by theapplication itself, or generated by the Operating System. Buttons aregrouped on the OS Taskbar based on this ID. Destination Lists are alsoassigned per App ID. The App ID helps group together application windowson the taskbar, regardless of whether those windows are hosted by asingle or multiple processes with same or different names or modules. Insome embodiments, the App ID is public and controls grouping. Thegrouping is enforced by the OS Shell and applies to windows andshortcuts. Logically, Destination Lists are also assigned per App ID,since they are presented from a Taskbar button group.

App IDs can be set on several different objects. For instance, App IDscan be set on shortcuts, processes, Destination Lists, FTA registration,and windows. Not all applications set App IDs, such as the Microsoftapplications Calculator and Paint. When the App ID is not explicitlyset, grouping is done based on an OS shell system-generated/internal AppID. The mechanism is private and derived from process information. Insome embodiments, the server agent 210 determines whether theapplication window has an explicit App ID. If one does exist, it can beretrieved using a method of the shell to retrieve the explicit App ID.In some embodiments, the server agent 210 may query the window'sPKEY_AppUserModel_ID property using the public IPropertyStore Shellinterface, GetValue( ) method to retrieve it. In other embodiments, theserver agent 210 may retrieve the explicit App ID by hookingICustomDestinationList::SetAppID( ) and SHAddToRecentDocs( ) in casethese methods are used to set an explicit App ID. If an explicit App IDdoes not exist, the server agent 210 checks the window's owner processfor an App ID. In some operating systems, a query is only available onthe current process, e.g. the GetCurrentProcessExplicitAppUserModelIDAPI, and can only be used in the context of the calling process andcannot be used by a server agent since it may need to query otherprocesses. Therefore in some embodiments the server agent 210, may use alow-level method to retrieve an undocumented structure in order toretrieve the App ID. By way of example, but without limitation, in someembodiments, the server agent 210 may use an API provided by theoperating system, such as the NtQuerylnformationProcess API provided insome versions of Microsoft Windows in the ntdll.dll library. By using adecimal parameter value of 50 for the parameter ProcesslnformationClass,the server agent 210 may retrieve a structure of struct {DINTnAppldLaunchFlags; USHORT nBufferLengthlnBytes; WCHARszAppUserModelID[1];}. In one embodiment, the nAppldLaunchFlags maycomprise a bitmask with flags indicating whether the szAppUserModelldstring refers to a process' explicit App ID. In one such embodiment, ahexadecimal flag of 0x1000 being set may indicate that the App ID isexplicitly set in the szAppUserModelld field. If the flag is not set, inthis embodiment, the szAppUserModelld field may be ignored.

In some embodiments, if an explicit App ID is not available, then eitherthe server agent 210 or the client agent 230 can generate an App ID. Insome embodiments, the App ID is generated by expanding environmentstrings to complete local paths, and replacing known file paths withknown folder GUIDs representing these file paths, using theFindFolderFromPath( ) method of the IKnownFolderManager interface, whichreturns a special GUID type known as a KNOWNFOLDERID. In someembodiments, the server agent 210 or the client agent 230 converts theGUID value to a string, e.g. using the StringFromGUID2 API, andconcatenates the known folder segments of the process module file pathwith the rest of the file path. For example, given an unaltered,unexpanded host process module file path of “% ProgramFiles %\InternetExplorer\iexplore.exe”, the server agent 210 or the client agent 230first expands this to “CAProgram Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe”.Then it uses the IKnownFolderManager interface as described above toreplace the “CAProgram Files” known folder segment of the path with“{7C5A40EF-A0FB-4BFC-874A-C0F2E0B9FA8E}” (the KNOWNFOLDERID GUID valuefor this specific folder), and then concatenates it with the rest of thepath, yielding the following complete pseudo-system-generated App ID:“{7C5A40EF-A0FB-4BFC-874A-C0F2E0B9FA8E}\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe”.This is the App ID value used by the client agent 230. In someembodiments, the App ID value, which is either explicit orpseudo-system-generated as described above, is used by the client agent230 and the server agent 210. Once the App ID is properly set for alocal window and a Stub executable, then the OS Shell automatically doesthe grouping of windows and shortcuts. Also, once the App ID is properlyset for a Destination List, the OS Shell automatically associates itwith the respective Taskbar button group.

For Shell Item handling (e.g. document handling) an application 220 mustregister an FTA. Otherwise the document will not appear in theDestination List for the application 220. The client agent 230configures or registers the Stub executable with FTAs to match thepublished application 220. FTA registration also includes the respectiveApp ID associated with the Destination Lists.

Example FTA registration details:

Remote app: Notepad.exe Local Stub Exe: NotepadStub.exe

FTA extension: .txt

Registry updates:

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\OpenWithProgids]“Citrix.Receiver.NotepadProgID”=hex(0):

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Citrix.Receiver.NotepadProgID]“FriendlyTypeName”=“Text Document (Hosted)” “AppUserModelID”=“<RemoteNotepad's App ID>”

Note: The above <Remote Notepad's App ID> is the hosted Notepad's AppID, if grouping with local apps, or another unique App ID generated bythe client agent 230, if not grouping with local applications. This isconsistent with the Destination List's App ID used by the client agent230.

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Citrix.Receiver.NotepadProgID\CurVer]@=“Citrix.Receiver.NotepadProgID”[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Citrix.Receiver.NotepadProgID\DefaultIcon]

@=“C:\\Program Files\\Citrix\\Self-service Plugin\\NotepadStub.exe”Note: Another icon location can also be used.[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Citrix.Receiver.NotepadProgID\shell]

@=“Open”

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Citrix.Receiver.NotepadProgID\shell\Open][HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Citrix.Receiver.NotepadProgID\shell\Open\Command]

@=“C:\\Program Files\\Citrix\\Self-service Plugin\\NotepadStub.exe/HandleDocument:%1”

This FTA registration ensures that the local Stub executable(NotepadStub.exe) is called for .txt files and it then forwards theShell Item to the client agent 230, which can then opaquely forward theShell Item for processing to the server 106.

In some embodiments, Automatic and Custom destinations are stored by theShell into an internal data store in the form of .customDestinations-msand .automaticDestinations-ms files per App ID. Destination Lists perApp ID are merged from the respective automatic and custom lists. Thisparadigm is used to keep the user interface responsive as there is noneed for the Taskbar to launch and ask the application 220 for its list.Instead, it can be directly retrieved from the data store. Additionally,the paradigm permits concurrency, where reading from or writing to thelist is done in a transaction-based model. The application 220 callsICustomDestinationList::BeginList, builds the list by adding custom orknown categories, and eventually callsICustomDestinationList::CommitList. The Shell receives an event andrefreshes the Destination List for that App ID. While a new DestinationList is being built, the Shell can show the old/current DestinationList.

In some embodiments, the systems described herein provide shellintegration for thumbnail toolbars for applications 220 executingremotely on a server 106. A server agent 210 executing on a server 106launches an application 220 responsive to a request from a clientcomputing device 102. The server agent 210 detects a window created bythe launched application 220. The server agent 210 extracts anapplication identifier from the created window. The server agent 210transmits the application identifier to a client agent 230 executing ona client device 102. The client agent 230 creates a local windowcomprising a button on a local taskbar of the client device 102 usingthe received application identifier. In some embodiments, the serveragent 210 does not extract an application identifier from the createdwindow. In some embodiments, the created window does not contain anexplicit application identifier. In some embodiments, extracting anapplication identifier is unnecessary as a new application identifierwill be generated for the local window on the client device 102. Theserver agent 210 sends a message received from the client agent 230received via the button on the local taskbar of the client device to thelaunched application 220. The server agent 210 intercepts a plurality ofimages comprising buttons specified by the launched application 220. Theserver agent 210 transmits one of the plurality of images to the clientdevice 102. The client agent 230 uses one of the received images fromthe server agent as a button in the local window. The server agent 210transmits to the launched application 220 user input received from theclient agent 230 via the displayed button on the local window. Theserver agent 210 transmits to the client agent 230 a message generatedby the launched application responsive to the user input. The clientagent 230 updates the button responsive to the message received from theserver agent 210.

In some embodiments, the server agent 210 launches a hosted application220 and detects process and window creation. The server agent 210 sendsprotocols to the client agent over a virtual channel. The client agent230 creates a local window, which receives a button on the local clienttaskbar. The client taskbar sends a message to the client windownotifying it that a taskbar button has been created for the clientwindow. In some embodiments the message is the TaskbarButtonCreatedmessage. The message is transmitted to the server agent 210. The serveragent 210 emulates the taskbar and sends the message to thecorresponding application window 220 in the user session. Theapplication 220 sets the image list. In some embodiments, the image listmay contain up to seven buttons. In some embodiments, the image of eachbutton is in its default active state. The server agent 210 interceptsthe call by the application 220 to set the image list, e.g., aITaskbarList3::ThumbBarSetImageList method call, and transmits theimages to the client agent 230. The client agent 230 uses the receivedimages and generates a call to set the image list on the correspondinglocal window, e.g. calls the ITaskbarList3::ThumbBarSetImageList method.The application 220 adds buttons by making a call, e.g. aITaskbarList3::ThumbBarAddButtons call, to add buttons to the thumb bar.The server agent 210 intercepts the call to add buttons to the thumb barand transmits the call to the client agent 230. The call transmittedfrom the server agent 210 to the client agent 230 may include a buttonidentifier, an image (as an index into the previously set list or anexplicit icon), a tool tip, state (such as SHOWN, HIDDEN, ENABLED,DISABLED, DISMISS-ON-CLICK, NO BACKGROUND, NON-INTERACTIVE), or anycombination of the above. The client agent 230 generates a call, e.g., aITaskbarList3::ThumbBarAddButtons call, to add thumb bar buttons on thecorresponding local window and the buttons are created with the localtaskbar. The buttons are shown when the user activates a thumbnailpreview of the application 220. The local toolbar itself providesvisuals for various states of the button, such as CLICKED, DISABLED, andHOVER.

When a button in a thumb nail toolbar is clicked, the local windowassociated with the thumbnail is sent a message. For instance, themessage may be a WM_COMMAND message with the HIWORD of its wPARAMparameter set to be THBN_CLICKED and the LOWORD to the button ID. Theclient agent 230 sends the message to the server 106. The server agent210 emulates the taskbar and sends the message to the correspondingapplication window in the user session. The application 220 may decideto update the buttons as a result of user action or some other event. Insome embodiments, the application calls theITaskbarList3::ThumbBarUpdateButtons method as needed to show or hidebuttons, enable or disable individual buttons. The server agent 210intercepts the call to the ITaskbarList3::ThumbBarUpdateButtons methodand transmits the new button states to the client agent 230. The clientagent 230 calls ITaskbarList3::ThumbBarUpdateButtons on thecorresponding local window and the buttons are updated with the localtaskbar. The user may exit the Thumbnail preview, in which case thebuttons disappear along with the preview. The application 220 eventuallydestroys its window, which causes the local window to be destroyed,which causes the buttons to be removed from or with the local taskbar.

In some embodiments, the systems described herein provide shellintegration for overlay icons for applications 220 executing remotely ona server 106. In some embodiments, the server agent 210 executing on aserver 106 launches an application 220 responsive to a request from aclient device 102. The server agent 210 detects a window created by thelaunched application 220. The server agent 210 extracts an applicationidentifier from the window. The server agent 210 transmits theapplication identifier to a client agent 230 executing on a clientdevice 102. The launched application 220 creates a status indicatorindicating the status of the application. The server agent 210 transmitsthe status indicator intercepted from the launched application 220. Theclient agent 230 creates a local window corresponding to the launchedapplication 220 using the received application identifier. The clientagent 230 overlays the received status indicator on a taskbar iconcorresponding to the launched application 220 in the local window.

In some embodiments, a message is generated and transmitted from theclient 102 to the server 106 notifying the launched application 220 thata taskbar button has been created for the client window. In someembodiments, the application 220 sets the overlay icon, e.g. using aITaskbarList3::SetOverlaylcon call. The server agent 210 intercepts thecall and the overlay icon from the application 220 and transmits it tothe client agent 230. In some embodiments, the server agent 210intercepts and transmits to the client 102 the host window handle, whichthe client 102 translates to the local window handle. In someembodiments, the server agent 210 intercepts and transmits the overlayicon. Null can be used to remove a previous overlay icon. In someembodiments, the server agent 210 intercepts and transmits a descriptionthat may be used for accessibility purposes. In some embodiments, theclient agent 230 calls a method, e.g. ITaskbarList3::SetOverlaylcon, toset the overlay icon on the corresponding local window and the overlayicon is applied with the local taskbar button.

In some embodiments, the systems described herein provide shellintegration for progress bars for applications 220 executing remotely ona server 106. A server agent 210 executing on a server 106 launches anapplication 220 responsive to a request from a client device 102. Theserver agent 210 detects a window created by the launched device 220.The server agent 210 extracts an application identifier from the window.The server agent 210 transmits the application identifier to a clientagent 230 executing on a client device 102. The client agent 230 createsa local window corresponding to the launched application using thereceived application identifier. The server agent 210 transmits aprogress state or progress value of the application 220. The launchedapplication 220 displays the progress state or progress value of theapplication 220 on a taskbar icon on the client computing device 102corresponding to the local window of the launched application 220.

In some embodiments, seamless window creation proceeds as normal and amessage is generated and sent from the client 102 to the server 106notifying the launched application 220 that a taskbar button has beencreated for the client window. The application 220 sets the progressstate and/or the progress value, e.g. by callingITaskbarList3::SetProgressState and/or ITaskbarList3::SetProgressValuemethods. In some embodiments, the server agent 220 intercepts the callsand the progress state and/or progress value of the application 220 andtransmits the information to the client 102. In some embodiments, theserver agent 210 intercepts and transmits a host window handle, whichthe client agent 230 translates to the local window handle of the clientdevice 102. In some embodiments, the server agent 210 intercepts andtransmits the state of the application 220. In some embodiments, thestate of the application 220 may include a value of INDETERMINATE,NORMAL, ERROR, PAUSED or NO PROGRESS.

In some embodiments, the server agent 210 intercepts and transmits tothe client computing device 102 a progress value of the application 220.In some embodiments, the progress value may include a host windowhandle, which the client 102 translates to the local window handle, aproportion value indicating completion progress, and a value specifyingthe value proportion will have when the operation is complete. In someembodiments, the client agent 102 may call one or both of the methodsfor progress state or progress value of the application 220 on thecorresponding local window. For example, the client agent 102 may callITaskbarList3::SetProgressState and/or ITaskbarList3::SetProgressValuemethods, and the progress state or value is applied with the localtaskbar button.

For simplicity, the systems and methods described herein assume Seamlesswindow mode and server-hosted applications. It is to be understood thatthe same techniques, and without any limitations, apply to ReverseSeamless mode and Client Hosted Applications, except that the roles ofthe client agent 230 and the server agent 210 are reversed. In ReverseSeamless mode the Destination Lists, Thumbnail toolbars, Overlay iconsand Progress bars of Client Hosted Applications are seamlesslyintegrated into the remote server's Shell, e.g., the VDA's Taskbar.

In some embodiments, a user of a local machine 102 connects to a remotemachine 106 and views a display on the local machine 102 of a localversion of a remote desktop environment, comprising a plurality of dataobjects, generated on the remote machine 106 and an application 220 orother resource accessible via an integrated desktop environment—boththose resources generated on the local machine 102 and those generatedon the remote machine 106—is shown on the remote desktop environment asif it were executing on, or executable from, the remote desktopenvironment. In one of these embodiments, a component on the localmachine 102 (e.g., the client agent 230) integrates remotely generatedwindows into a local desktop environment. In another of theseembodiments, a component on the remote machine 106 integrates windowsgenerated on the local machine 102 into a desktop environment generatedby the remote machine 106. In still another of these embodiments,although the local machine 102 is described above as the machineaccessed by a user and the remote machine 106 is described above as themachine that transmits window attribute data and output data forintegration by the local machine 102, the inverse is implemented—thatis, the local machine 102 provides the functionality described above asprovided by the remote machine 106 (including, for example, gatheringand transmitting process data for integration into a desktopenvironment) while the remote machine 106 provides the functionalitydescribed above as provided by the local machine 102 (including, forexample, receiving process identification data and directing theintegration of the received data into a desktop environment).

While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in theaccompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments aremerely illustrative of and not restrictive on the methods and systemsdescribed herein. Additionally, it is possible to implement the methodsand systems described herein or some of its features in hardware,programmable devices, firmware, software or a combination thereof. Themethods and systems described herein or parts of the methods and systemsdescribed herein may also be embodied in a processor-readable storagemedium or machine-readable medium such as a magnetic (e.g., hard drive,floppy drive), optical (e.g., compact disk, digital versatile disk,etc), or semiconductor storage medium (volatile and non-volatile).

1. A method comprising: receiving at a local computing device, adestination list from a remote computing device, said destination listcorresponding to an application executing on the remote computingdevice; instantiating, at the local computing device, a stub executableprogram based on the application executing on the remote computingdevice; and associating the destination list with the stub executableprogram.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the destination listcomprises at least one of items or links corresponding to theapplication.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: outputtingfor display a user interface comprising the destination list;intercepting, at the local computing device, user input selecting anitem on the destination list displayed on the user interface,corresponding to an item in the destination list received from theremote computing device; and sending the intercepted user input to theapplication executing on the remote computing device.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the associating is based on an application identifier.5. The method of claim 4, further comprising assigning, at the localcomputing device, a same application identifier as the application tothe stub executable program.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving, at the local computing device, an updateddestination list from the remote computing device; and updating theoutput destination list based on the received updated destination list.7. The method of claim 1, wherein the application is a web browser, andwherein said received destination list corresponds to a web sitereceived by the web browser.
 8. One or more non-transitory computerreadable media storing computer executable instructions that, whenexecuted by a hardware processor, cause a local computing device toperform: receiving at the local computing device, a destination listfrom a remote computing device, said destination list corresponding toan application executing on the remote computing device; instantiating,at the local computing device, a stub executable program based on theapplication executing on the remote computing device; and associatingthe destination list with the stub executable program.
 9. Thenon-transitory computer readable media of claim 8, wherein thedestination list comprises at least one of items or links correspondingto the application.
 10. The non-transitory computer readable media ofclaim 9, said media further comprising instructions for: outputting fordisplay a user interface comprising the destination list; intercepting,at the local computing device, user input selecting an item on thedestination list displayed on the user interface, corresponding to anitem in the destination list received from the remote computing device;and sending the intercepted user input to the application executing onthe remote computing device.
 11. The non-transitory computer readablemedia of claim 8, wherein the associating is based on an applicationidentifier.
 12. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 11,said media further comprising instructions for assigning, at the localcomputing device, a same application identifier as the application tothe stub executable program.
 13. The non-transitory computer readablemedia of claim 8, said media further comprising instructions for:receiving, at the local computing device, an updated destination listfrom the remote computing device; and updating the output destinationlist based on the received updated destination list.
 14. Thenon-transitory computer readable media of claim 8, wherein theapplication is a web browser, and wherein said received destination listcorresponds to a web site received by the web browser.
 15. An apparatuscomprising: at least one processor; a network interface configured tocommunicate, via network, with a remote computing device; and a memorystoring computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the atleast one processor, cause the apparatus to: receive a destination listfrom the remote computing device, said destination list corresponding toan application executing on the remote computing device; instantiate astub executable program based on the application executing on the remotecomputing device; and associate the destination list with the stubexecutable program.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein theinstructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further causethe apparatus to: output for display a user interface comprising thedestination list of items corresponding to the application; interceptuser input selecting an item on the destination list displayed on theuser interface, corresponding to an item in the destination listreceived from the remote computing device; and send the intercepted userinput to the application executing on the remote computing device. 17.The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the associating is based on anapplication identifier.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein theinstructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further causethe apparatus to: assign a same application identifier as theapplication to the stub executable program.
 19. The apparatus of claim15, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, further cause the apparatus to: receive an updateddestination list from the remote computing device; and update the outputdestination list based on the received updated destination list.
 20. Theapparatus of claim 15, wherein the application is a web browser, andwherein said received destination list corresponds to a web sitereceived by the web browser.